Report: Seattle Mariners Ace Felix Hernandez Buys Property That Could Fit a King

Posted on June 6th, 2013. Original content from Zillow's Real Estate Blog.

Source: Google Maps

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The word around Seattle is that Mariners’ ace Felix Hernandez has officially taken up the mantle of “Franchise Player” with aplomb.

First, there was the monster contract extension the power pitcher signed last winter worth a reported $175 million gross and keeping him in the Emerald City until 2019.

Then there’s word that just like the original Mariners phenom, Ken Griffey Jr., Hernandez has taken a liking to dining late at one of Seattle’s most famously five-star restaurants, Canlis. With a champagne list boasting $9,500 bottles of bubbly and service fit for royalty, it’s no wonder that King Felix apparently doesn’t mind paying the Hugo Boss-attired staff overtime to stick around and make him feel extra special.

Now, to further cement the Venezuelan’s ties to his adopted Major League hometown, comes word from the Puget Sound Business Journal that Hernandez has plunked down $1.4 million for a 1964 split-level in the uber-exclusive neighborhood of Clyde Hill on the east side of Lake Washington.

Given King Felix’s new-found affection for the best things in life, it’s tough to imagine that Hernandez won’t be demolishing the existing structure in favor of a custom-built estate on the half-acre parcel. With views of Lake Washington and downtown Seattle, the property fits the profile of other older Seattle-area homes that boast exquisite locations and views, but are in need of a king’s touch.

While $1.4 million might sound like a lot for a building lot, keep in mind that the Seattle-area real estate market has been on fire for the past year, and water-view parcels are even more aggressively coveted. Clyde Hill property values have increased 13 percent year-over-year, with a median list price of $1.775 million.

Hernandez owns a 5,000-square-foot home in nearby Bellevue, but despite a wine room and home movie theater, there’s every reason to imagine that the new king of the Pacific Northwest sports scene doesn’t want to make a really big real estate statement.